Sam's 'New' Look
by Phanton Flame
Summary: My third story! When Sam comes to school dressed slightly different than usual, everyone's attention is on her, especially the guys. What's Danny gonna do? DxS One-shot. Complete.


**(A/N: Whoo, my third story! I started this fic in January, then worked on it in-between homework and assignments. Now it's finally completed! Read and enjoy. Review if you want to, but flames aren't exactly welcomed :P)**

Summary: When Sam comes to school dressed slightly different than usual, everyone's attention is on her, especially the guys. What's Danny gonna do? DxS One-shot. R&R please. Complete.

**NOTE! This is the first time I'm writing dialogue from Dash, so if he sounds a bit OOC, do tell me so that I can correct it. Thanks a lot!

* * *

**

Genre: Romance/ Humour/ Drama

Rating: T (Some cursings here and there)

Disclaimer: Danny Phantom © Butch Hartman; Charice Montez © M00nlite Maiden _(for more information about my OC, feel free to visit my profile :P)_.

Lights, Camera, ACTION!

**(A/N: My notes)**

"Speech"

_Thoughts_

=Where/ When=

~Point of View change~

**-Recap/ Flashback-

* * *

**

One-shot—Sam's 'New' Look

=Somewhere in Amity Park **(A/N: Not giving away where it's happening yet :P)**=

~Normal POV~

It was a nice, normal morning in Amity Park. The trees were rustling in the gentle breeze, the birds were singing, the crickets were chirping (because the reader was dozing)...

"SHIT, I'M GOING TO BE SO LATE!"

…and chaos was evident in the Manson Household. Samantha "Sam" Manson's bedroom, to be more precise.

The previously-mentioned girl was truly a sight to behold. If you could actually _see_ her, that is. She was darting around the Gothic-themed room so fast, she was a mere blur of activity. After all, she was trying to get dressed, fix her make-up, pack the necessities into her purple spider book-bag _and_ comb her bed-head. All at the same time. Quite a feat, really.

It was pretty obvious that Sam had woken up late. Her excuse? A certain halfa had phased through her window looking like he had just gone through a war at two in the morning. By the time she was done patching him up and conversing with him, it was already four am.

Not that she was complaining about it, oh no. With the landslide of assignments, pop quizzes and tests, she barely had time to catch up with the school syllabus, let alone catch up with her best guy friend.

Besides, a little attention from him never hurt, especially since Sam had a teensy, _tiiiny_ little crush on that dolt. And that same dolt just drooled over the school's Queen-Bee _Paulina_ whenever he had the chance.

Yes, it did not hurt _one bit_ to have a little attention from him.

Miraculously, while we were babbling on and on about a certain halfa, Sam had managed to put on her undergarments and the usual black tank-top, as well as to pack her bag and comb her hair. In her haste, she decided to ditch the skirt and purple stockings. She slipped into a pair of purple mid-thigh shorts with green stripes running down the sides, followed by her deadly black combat boots.

"Oh come _on_!" She grumbled in annoyance as she attempted to tie the signature poof of hair with her green hair-tie, but to no avail. After wrestling with her silky black locks for a couple of minutes, she gave up and threw the hair-tie back onto the dressing table.

The Goth girl then quickly applied some light-purple eye shadow, before snatching up a random tube of lip-gloss to smear over her lips. Thankfully for her, it was a lovely shade of plum, and not some icky bubblegum pink that her mother seemed to like so much.

With that, she snatched up her purple spider book-bag and ran for all she was worth for to the torture-chamber they called school.

* * *

=At School=

"…and now, after we divide 125 by the square root of x, we shall get…" Mr Lancer's monotonous voice was tuned out by Danny as fast as possible.

The boy reached a hand out behind him and waved it in front of Tucker's face. "Hey dude, have you seen Sam?"

"I dunno." The bespectacled boy's reply was curt and slightly harsh as he fiddled with his PDA hidden under his desk.

Danny frowned at his friend's rudeness and slunk down into his seat, worry seeping into his baby-blue eyes.

Charice noticed this and patted his head teasingly. "Chillax, Danny. It's not the first time Sam's been late for class. She probably overslept…again." A mischievous grin spread flitted across her features. "You worry too much about your girlfriend sometimes."

"She's not my girlfriend." He covered his flushed cheeks with his hands.

The brunette giggled at his reaction. "You keep saying that to yourself, you clueless boy…just keep saying that…" She sighed.

Just then, a girl burst through the front door. "I am _so_ sorry I'm late, Mr Lancer!" She panted, trying to catch her breath and talk at the same time. "I overslept this morning and my alarm clock wasn't set, so I…"

As the girl continued rambling to a bewildered Mr Lancer, the rest of his Mathematics class noted her presence. She was clad in a black tank top with a purple oval in the centre and a pair of purple shorts with thin lime-green stripes running down the sides that only reached her mid-thighs, revealing her ivory-pale slender legs that were set in heavy black combat boots.

The girl reached a pale hand up to brush her silky raven bangs to the side, her unusual amethyst orbs dusted with light-purple eye shadow peeking from beneath them. Her hair swung as she shifted on her feet, while her plum-coloured lips moved as she told her tale to the still confused bald teacher.

Paulina and her giggly gang were impressed by her beauty, whereas the guys were talking about the new girl (or so they thought)…

"Um… I think you've explained enough, Ms Manson. Please take your seat so I can continue our lesson." Mr Lancer finally spoke, an air of mild annoyance around him.

…and the whole class received the shock of their lives. Ms _Manson_? As in, _Sam Manson_?

Who knew that the resident Goth girl could be… _hot_?

In his surprise, Danny lost control of his powers and turned the lower half of his body intangible, causing him to phase through his seat. He barely noticed it though, since he was too busy wondering how the _heck_ had he not noticed how hot his best friend was until _now_. He was Sam's _best friend_, for Pete's sake!

…oh yeah. _Best friend_. There's that stupid unwritten rule that states you're not supposed to check out your best friend of the opposite gender. Yep, that is _definitely_ a valid explanation.

Sam swung past the dazed boy swiftly before plopping down into her seat next to Tucker. "So…" She dragged the word for a few seconds. "What did I miss?"

"Nothing, really. Just the entire population of guys, excluding me and including Danny over there, drooling over your new look." Tucker answered, still tapping away at his PDA.

Charice raised an eyebrow. "I seriously wonder how he knows _everything_ that happens in class _without_ even looking up from that damned piece of technology."

Sam ignored her, her thoughts still stuck on one thing. "New look? What new look?"

Tucker finally looked up, surprise evident on his face. "You don't know what you wore this morning?"

The ebony-haired teen gave him a weirded-out look. "What the _Hell_, Tucker?"

"What he's trying—and failing—to ask is…" Charice cut in, rolling her eyes at the Techno-Geek. "…why on _earth_ are you dressed in a tank and miniscule shorts?"

"Oh! I overslept this morning and was in a really big hurry to get out of the house, so I just tossed these on." Sam answered with a careless shrug. "I just didn't expect Tuck to get _that_ dramatic on me."

"Well, try telling that to _him_!" The previously-mentioned boy retorted, jabbing the air around Danny, whose head was _still_ sticking out of his chair (thankfully, no one else noticed). "He's acting like he's seeing you _naked_ or something!"

"_Tucker_!" The two girls hissed out in unison, disgusted.

That statement was enough to snap Danny out of his funk. "Huh? What?"

"You're sitting on the floor with your head above the chair." Charice stated dryly.

His blue eyes widened as he quickly scrambled to sit back on the chair like a normal person. "Heh." He mumbled sheepishly. "Sorry about that. I guess I got a little distracted…"

"Of _course_ he got distracted! Sam's totally new—and hot—look is attracting some stares by now." Tucker nodded his head in the direction where Dash, Kwan and the rest of the jocks were seated. Sure enough, they were all staring at Sam the way a pack of hungry dogs stare at a piece of meat.

Sam looked horrified. "The _jocks_ are staring at the one they call a Gothic freak? The world must be ending!"

Tucker snickered. Her reaction was just as he had expected. Now to test Danny…"I'll bet that Sam's gonna get at least a few invitations to sit with them at lunch…or maybe ask her out on a _date_!"

Danny forced down the bout of jealousy that gripped at his heart when he heard Tucker's words. _I shouldn't be feeling jealous. Sam's my best friend, and she can date anyone she wants… Besides, I'm supposed to act like I have a crush on Paulina._

He startled. _Wait, since when was it an _act_?_

"Eww, a _date_? With the _jocks_?" Sam's clear voice sliced through his muddled thoughts. "Don't make me sick…"

"Hey, that's not _too_ bad. If you date a jock, you can be one of the popular girls…and knock Paulina off her Queen Bee throne." Charice suggested, grinning.

Sam instantly brightened. "That's actually not a bad idea…" She trailed off when she noticed Danny's expression as she said that. He looked a little green around the gills. "Erm… Danny, are you feeling okay?"

The raven-haired boy looked up at the sound of his name. "Oh. Um…yeah. I'm okay."

She raised an eyebrow. _He's acting awfully strange these days… Drooling over someone like Paulina probably killed some of his brain cells…_ She shook her head to clear her thoughts, just as the bell rang.

* * *

=At Lunch a few hours Later=

"You know, when you said that I'll get a few invitations to sit at their tables and a few dates, I didn't expect the _entire population of boys_ to come to me every few minutes." Sam grumbled to Tucker as she took her seat on their usual bench in the cafeteria with her salad and a bottle of water.

Tucker's jaw dropped. "I was joking just now, you know. How many of 'em?"

"Five dates and four invites during the five-minute breaks in-between lessons, three dates and six invites during Biology, and two dates and two invites on the way here." Sam muttered, ticking off the numbers from her slender fingers.

"No, there were four dates during Biology." Charice corrected, crashing into her seat with that day's lunch special, Mac-n-cheese.

Sam groaned and massaged her temples. "Make it go awaaaaaaay…"

"Jeez, what happened to you?" Danny peered curiously at her, carrying a plate of Mac-n-cheese with him.

"She's stressed 'cos she's got herself twelve invitations to sit with the jocks and ten dates with the jocks lined up for her." Tucker reported, observing his friend for any sign of jealousy.

Danny felt like the wind was knocked out of him. _Twelve invites and ten dates? With _my_ Sam?_

He blinked. _Wait, since when has been Sam _mine_? That never happened…and never will._

With that depressing thought, he sat down and began picking at his food.

Sam blinked at her upset crush for a moment, before stabbing a piece of lettuce with her fork and popping it into her mouth.

Tucker exchanged glances with Charice with the same thought running through their heads… _Yup, Danny's _definitely_ jealous.

* * *

_

=After School=

"So... are we up for the Nasty Burger?" Tucker asked eagerly. His stomach was growling, even though lunch had only been a few hours before.

Charice shrugged nonchalantly. "Sure."

"Yeah, whatever." Danny mumbled dully, having been like that since lunch time.

Tucker realized that the last member of their "Loser" group was not around. "Hey, where's Sam?"

As if on cue, a feminine voice replied, "I already told you multiple times, Dash, I'm not interested in going on a date with you. Could you just leave me alone?"

Danny, Tucker and Charice turned around to see Sam being cornered at her locker by the best footballer of Casper High.

"Why should I?" He sneered loudly, arrogance clear in his tone. "I'm the jock called _Dash Baxter_. _No one_ turns me down! Especially since I have muscles like _these_!" He flexed his abnormally large arm muscles proudly.

"_No one_ turns you down?" Sam repeated skeptically, looking Dash up and down. "I must be an exception, then. All I see is a large gorilla in a football uniform."

She tried to push past him, but he refused to let her, grabbing her tiny wrist. His teammates had bet with him that he could never score a date with Manson, so he just had to prove them wrong…and get a lot of money.

"Let me go, Dash!" Sam snapped, trying to tug her arm away from the large gorilla—I mean, Dash.

"Not until you agree to go on a date with me!" He insisted.

The girl snorted. "Never in a million years!"

The blonde growled, losing his patience. "You have to, or else I won't let you go!" He crushed her petite wrist under his grip, earning a cry of pain from her.

Another growl was heard. This time, it was Danny. He had been seething as he watched the whole thing unfold, and now his blue orbs were flashing dangerously at Dash. _No one hurts _my_ Sam!_ He thought fiercely.

Before Tucker and Charice could stop him, he stomped towards Dash and grasped the arm that was clutching onto Sam's wrist. "Let her go." He hissed.

"If you don't want a beating, you'd better shuddup, Fen_turd_." The jock glared at the boy, squeezing Sam's poor wrist harder. She yelped, tears forming at the corners of her eyes as an awful snapping sound was heard.

Danny lost it completely. "I said, 'LET. HER. _GO_!" He shouted, tackling the burly jock to the ground (and away from Sam). Charice gently led a shell-shocked Sam over to where she and Tucker were standing as fast as she could.

"Jeez, what the heck is your problem, man?" Dash grunted out as the wimpy "Fenturd" knocked him over and punched his jaw. _He's not as wimpy as I thought he was…_

"You don't lay a finger on Sam!" Danny bellowed angrily as he stood above his bully **(A/N: LOL, the irony XD**), his blue eyes glowing neon-green for a second or two. "She already said 'NO', so leave her _alone_, you hear? Or else…"

Having recovered from his initial shock, Dash got up and gave him an 'I'm a raging bull and you're gonna get it' look. "It's none of your business anyway! What makes you think that you can tell me what to do, huh?" He challenged.

"Because I _LOVE_ her!" Danny blurted out instantly, before he realized what he just said. He slapped a hand over his mouth a few seconds too late.

Tucker, Charice, Sam and even _Dash_ had identical looks of surprise plastered across their faces.

_He cracked!_ Charice thought. _After so long, Danny finally cracked!_

Tucker was beside himself with hidden glee. _Yes! Lance owes me twenty bucks now!_

Sam was…in total shock. _Danny…loves me? But…but… I thought he likes Paulina… How…_

_Ha! Fenturd finally admitted that he likes the weird Goth chick!_ Dash gloated silently. _Wait till Kwan gets a load of this!_

While everyone was absorbed in their thoughts, a panicked Danny turned invisible and flew home at top speed.

* * *

=Danny's Bedroom

~Danny's POV~

The second I was in the safe confinements of my room, I changed back into my human half and flopped over onto my bed.

_Stupid, stupid, _stupid_!_

_Why, why, _why_ did I say that I loved Sam out loud?_

I wanted so badly to hide myself in a deserted part of the Ghost Zone, shrivel up and die there.

_I'm such an idiot sometimes… Now Sam's not gonna be my best friend anymore… Then she's gonna say she doesn't feel the same, and that she likes someone else…_

_I'll be so alone and madly jealous of that guy. He'll be so lucky to have a smart, pretty, unique, funny and kind girl like Sam._

_How did I get into this me—_

"May I come in?"

My head snapped upwards to look at the person who interrupted my one-man self-pity party. "S-Sam?"

"Yep, that's my name." She smiled at me awkwardly from the doorway. Not that I blamed her.

I gazed at her wrist, which looked limp and useless. "Is your wrist okay?"

She winced. _That's not a good sign…_ "I think the large gorilla broke it, but I'll live."

I ground my teeth together and clenched my fists tightly. "I'm gonna kill him."

"It's okay, Danny." When I didn't provide a response, I felt a small hand resting comfortingly on my back. I hadn't noticed that she had walked over to my bed. "Really, Danny. I'm fine."

There was tension so thick flowing in the room that I could take a knife and cut it into bite-size pieces. We both felt it, and I was pretty sure we knew the reason for it, too.

"Um… So, where are Charice and Tucker?" I asked, in an effort to break the silence.

Sam shrugged, shifting her hand away from my back. "I'm not really sure. After we realized that you had vanished into thin air, I ditched them and ran for your house."

"Oh." I replied, feeling lame.

I was getting really fidgety and nervous. _Why hasn't she talked about my slip-up at school yet? I know she wants to…_ I drummed my fingers along the edge of my bed without any sense of rhythm.

My crush sat at the edge of my bed. "Did you mean what you said at school?" She asked quietly.

_Oh man. She asked it. She _asked_ IT._

_Now I have to tell her the truth…_

_Here goes nothing…_

I swallowed hard, feeling my Adam's apple bob up and down as I did so. "Y-yeah."

"Oh." She murmured, looking awfully sad. I wanted nothing more than to hug her, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. "I think I'll just…go now." She stood up and strode across the room to the door.

That's when I noticed that her amethyst eyes were shining with unshed tears.

"H-hey…" I got up quickly and caught her arm gently before she ducked out of my room. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing! Nothing's wrong!" She replied with false cheer as she tried to hide her face from me.

I pulled her towards me so that we were face-to-face. "Dammit, Sam, stop lying to me. You're _crying_, and don't you deny it. Now, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing, okay?" She insisted, not looking me in the eye.

"C'mon, Sam…" I coaxed. "I'm your best friend; You can tell me anything."

"That's just it!" Sam cried out, startling me a bit. "_Best friend_! That's all I am to you! You'll never see me anything more than a _best friend_! You just drool over _Paulina_ day after day! Now you tell me you love me, but you just like the 'new' me! When I go back to being 'just Sam' again, I'm invisible once more!"

* * *

~Normal POV~

Sam struggled to free her arm from Danny's grip, but his hold on her was firm yet gentle. "Danny, just let me go." She sobbed softly, looking more vulnerable than he had ever seen her.

"No, Sam… Just… no. You've got it all wrong…" Danny's face held many emotions clumped together, so he looked upset, stunned, shocked and scared at the same time…while clinging onto her arm.

"_What_ have I gotten wrong, Danny?" She spat. "Do enlighten me."

"Sam, I was _scared_." He whispered, making the raven-haired girl shut up and listen to his tiny voice. "I was scared that I had fallen for my best friend, _long_ before she had a so-called new look. I thought she didn't like me back, so I pretended to crush on Paulina to divert my attention to her. I didn't actually like her, Sam. You have to believe me." His blue eyes were pleading.

"I…" Sam was breathing heavily with her eyes as wide as dinner plates. She was in that state for a few minutes, which was _waaaay_ to long for Danny. He panicked, wondering if he should run downstairs and get a defibrillator. **(A/N: He's not too good with medical stuff, so he thought hyperventilation requires that equipment which kick-starts the heart XD)**

"I... I… I've always loved you." Sam stammered out with a blush on her face, just as Danny was about to get the defibrillator.

Danny nearly fell over. "Wh-what?"

"I've always loved you, you clueless dolt." She repeated, carefully avoiding those baby-blues of his. She knew that one look at them would turn her into goo, and then Danny would have to explain how he somehow melted her into a puddle of sticky stuff. _That_ won't be pretty.

"R-really?" The boy asked, barely daring to hope.

She nodded shyly, peering at her black combat boots with newfound interest.

He let out a huge whoop of joy, hoisting the girl up by the waist and swinging her around.

"Whoa, Danny! I know you're happy; I'm happy, too! But seriously, put me down!" Sam laughed.

He complied instantly, setting her back on her feet and letting her go…but not before swooping down for a sweet kiss on her lips.

"So, you don't like my so-called new look?" Sam grinned after she pulled away from the kiss.

"Naaaaaah…" He kissed her forehead tenderly. "I love you just the way you are."

* * *

**(A/N: Jeez, I feel cheesy. Must've been the mac-n-cheese I had just now for lunch XD Hope you enjoyed this fic! Please review :D**

**~M00nlite Maiden :) )**


End file.
